"Global" and "local" are constructs which no longer adequately capture our lived experience. "Glocal" attempts to capture the melding of international and local realities. This blog provides an opportunity to consider how we can develop glocal thinking and encourage others to do so as well.

About Me

I have been an elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator. Currently, I am a faculty member in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My M.Ed. and Ph.D. had a focus on the educational and linguistic experiences of children who moved from other countries to Canada.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Buddy, can you spare a dime (x100?!)

I had challenged the Laurier teacher candidates to each donate a dime over a five week period to a centre for the disabled outside of Port au Prince. We have spent the term looking at special education in Ontario and the many services/programs available here. By donating to the centre in Haiti, the teacher candidates were contributing to the most basic of supports for those with special needs. The candidates took on the challenge and regularly caught me in the halls at Laurier and asked me where the change cup was where they could put their dimes.

Well, the dimes all added up ... the candidates donated just over $200! I will personally deliver the donation when I'm in Haiti in May. What a great reminder that (very) small steps can lead to significant change (so to speak!).